BBC has 'no ban' on Jeremy Clarkson: Shelved 'Top Gear' footage will air

Jeremy Clarkson is still out as the host of Top Gear, but his remaining episodes will see the light of day.

The BBC has announced that footage from Clarkson’s final three episodes, pulled after the host was fired for assaulting a producer, will air at some point this year. Although there is not enough footage for three full-length episodes, BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw told BBC News, “No way would I want the available material not to be seen by viewers.”

“It’s serious and unfortunate what happened,” said Shillinglaw, who is currently searching for Clarkson’s replacement, “but there is no ban on Jeremy being on the BBC.”

Many fans have expressed their support for the ousted host, and Clarkson’s fellow Top Gear presenters Richard Hammond and James May have refused to continue filming. In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Clarkson said, “For more than 12 years Top Gear has been my life, completely. It was an all-consuming entity, a many-tentacled global monster that was dysfunctional and awkward and mad but I loved it with a passion.”

The BBC has yet to announce when exactly Clarkson’s last footage will air.